Beenaed moebius



(No' Model.)

- B. MOEBIUS.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATION OF METALS. N0. 532,209.

Patented Jan. 8, 1895.

INVENTOR: amma; Nmmws TORNEY n4: NORRIS PETERS co. vnmuumu, WASHINGTON.n a

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BERNARD MOEBIUS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PROCESS OF AND APPARATUS FOR SEPARATION OF METALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,209, dated January8, 1 895.

Application filed February 28,1894- Serial No. 501|854=. (No model.)

To all whom/it may concern:

Be it known that I, BERNARD MOEBIUS, a citizen of theUnited States, andaresident of New York, in the county and State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful lmprovementsin Processes of and Apparatus for theSeparation of Metals, of which the following is a specification.

Myinvention relates to an improved method and apparatus for separatingmetals by electrolysis, its principal object being to withdraw thesilver or other deposited metal from the apparatus as fast as it isdeposited and to prevent short circuiting caused by the formation ofbridges between the anodes and cathodes.

For this purpose my invention consists essentially in passing thecathode through the bath in close proximity to the anode or anodes,depositing the silver on the cathode in a loose, spongy or crystallineform, collecting the silver carried 01f by the cathodeand discharg- 'ingit continuously outside of the bath and preventing the anions andcations from being mixed with each other.

In carrying out, my invention 1 use by preference apparatus of thenature shown in the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sectionalelevation of the apparatus, part being broken away. Fig. 2 is a verticalcross-section on the line a:y, Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detail view of thecontact lever for the anodes. Fig. his a'detail view showing modifiedforms for the diaphragm and frame.

. Referring now to the drawings the letterA represents a tank of theusual construction for the electrolytic bath.

' B, B are rolls placed within the tank, one of which, B, is rotated inthe direction of the arrow by suitable means, such as the pulley P.

O is an endless apron stretched between the .rolls' B and B andsupported by intermediate rolls b, b. This-endless apron is the cathodeand is for this purpose formed entirely of sheet metal, by preferencesilver, or it may be made of sheet metal with a non-metallic silver. Asseen in the drawings, the entire,

endlesscathod'e iscontained within the bath and is stretchedhorizontally. V

E, E arev frames and G anode plates supported by said frames E. Thebottom of the frames consists of diaphragms of muslin. or other suitablematerial such as porous earthenware, or the whole frame together withthe bottom may be a dish of porous earthenware as shown in Fig. 4; whereE, G is the porous dish. The framesE are removably supported upon thesides of the tank A.

D is an endless apron or conveyor formed of rubber cloth, canvas,orother suitable material. It is stretched between rolls d and d, the roll(1 being rotated inthe direction of the arrow: by suitable means, suchas the chain at and wheels N and O. a

K is a conductor, supplied, with positive current from a dynamo-machine,and connected with the anodes G (formed of the bullion to be separated),by contact arms M. y

L is the conductor for the negative current connected with the movablecathode C- by brushes F. The contact arms M are by preference made ofcopper and theends protected by rubber sleeves 'r and thin platinum capsm, as shown in Fig. 3.

S is a scraper bearing against the lower part ofthe apron D, andRareceptacle into which the silver or other deposit is discharged. Thereceptacle R is provided with a strainer for filtering off the liquidcarried over with the deposit.

The bullion to be separated is cast into anode plates G which are placedinto the frames E so as to be immersed in the exciting liquid and theanions and cations are thus separated by the diaphragms and preventedfrom being mixed. As an exciting liquid I use by preference a strongsolution of sodium or potassium nitrate sufficientlyacidulated withnitric and sulphuric acid to keep some silver andall the copper insolution, such a bath being a. very good conductor of electricity.-'

hen parting bullion containing silver, gold, copper, and other metals, acurrent of small electromotive force is used, and the dis solved silveris precipitated upon the cathode O in aloose spongy state or incrystalline form. It is slowly carried by the cathode C over the roll Band either collected in the tank near its end, whence it maybe removed,or by preference collected upon a conveyerD, which at once takes it outof the tank and discharges it into the receptacle R, whence it is takento the melting pot. The copper is dissolved but remains in solution,provided the exciting liquid be properly acidulated and not too poor insilver and too rich in copper.

By slowly moving the cathode past the anodes, collecting the deposittherefrom and again presenting fresh surfaces of the cathode to theanodes, short circuiting, such as generally caused by bridges formedbetween the anodes and cathodes, is prevented. The cathode may pass veryclose to the anodes, thus reducing resistance. The crystalsdepositedupon the cathode form part of the same, increase the surfaceand likewise reduce resistance. The work goes on continuously withoutinterruption for cleaning. The silver is delivered ready for the meltingpot, instead of being blocked up in the apparatus and requiring theinvestment of large capital.

The apparatus is very simple and requires but little repair andattention.

The gold and the platinum metals are re: tained upon the diaphragms,together with lead peroxide, some peroxide of silver and otherimpurities. Whenever any one of the anode plates is exhausted itscontact lever is raised up and a fresh anode plate put in. The residueuponthe diaphragms is collected in rotation, so that there is nointerruption in the process. This residue, containing gold and othermetals is treated in the usual well known manner.

By the method and apparatus described the entire anode is subjected tothe action of the current, andpo scraps are left, which have scribed aredesigned particularly for separating alloys containing silver, they maybe used for other purposes, as for instance for the electrolyticdeposition of copper in a loose, spongy state.

By arranging a series of vats in tiers one above the other anddischarging all the silver into one and the same receptacle, a greateconomy in space may be effected.

What I claim as new is- 1. The herein described method of refiningalloyscontaining silver, which consists in placing. the alloys as anodesinto a bath suitable fordissolving silver and copper therefrom,subjecting the anodes to an electric current of small electromotiveforce; slowly passing a silver cathode through the bath beneath theanodes and in close proximity to the same, preventing the mixing ofanions and cations, depositing the silver upon the cathode in a loose,spongy, or crystalline form, and collecting the silver deposited on thecathode, substantially as specified.

2. The herein described method of refining alloyscontainingsilver, whichconsists in placing the alloys as anodes into a bath suitable fordissolving silver and copper therefrom; subjecting the anodes to anelectric current of small electromotive force, slowly passing a silvercathode through the bath beneath the anodes and in close proximity tothe same; preventing the mixing of anions and cations, depositing thesilver in a loose, spongy or crystalline form upon the cathode andcontinuously carrying the same out of the bath gydmechanical means,substantially as speci- 3. The herein described method of refiningalloys containing silver, which consists in placing the anodes into abath of nitrates sufficiently acidulated to keep the copper in solution;subjecting the anodes to an electric current of small electromotiveforce, slowly passing a cathode through the bath beneath the anodes andin close proximity to the same, preventing the mixing of anions andcations, depositing the silver upon the cathode in a loose spongy orcrystalline form, leaving the gold, platinum metals and impurities atthe anodes, collecting the silver from the cathode and discharging it,substantially as specified.

4. The herein described method of refining alloys containing silver,consisting in subjecting the alloy as anode to an electric current ofsmall electro motive force in a bath of an alkali nitrate, such assodium nitrate, sufficiently acidulated with nitric and sulphuric acidto keep the copper in solution, passing a cathode of silver throughthe'bath beneath the anodes and'in close proximity to the same,depositing the silver upon the cathode in a loose spongy or crystallineform, collecting it and carrying it out of the bath, and preventing themixing of the anions and cations, substantially as specified.

5. In an electrolytic apparatus for the separation of metals, thecombination of an anode formed of the metals to be separated, ahorizontal endless cathode in the form of an endless apron, diaphragmframes suitable for receiving and submerging anode plates, placedhorizontally in close proximity to the upper part of the endless cathodeand adapted to prevent the mixing of anions and cations, and mechanicalmeans for collecting the deposit from the endless cathode, substantiallyas described. v

6. An electrolytic apparatus consisting of the vat A, anode frames Ewith diaphragms,

endless cathode O stretched on rolls, means for slowly moving theendless cathode bethe same; proper electric connection for the anodesand the cathode and a conveyer adapted to collect the deposit from theendless cathode within the bath and to deliver it 5 outside the bath,substantially as specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed myname, in presence of two witnesses, this 24th day of February, 1894.

" BERNARD MOEBIUS.

Witnesses:

A. FABER DU FAUR, J12, KLAs H. TERNSTEDT.

